Germany bans HCFCs from medical equipment

The German government has announced a ban on the use of ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorcarbons (HCFCs) in medical applications from 1 January, making it one of the first in the world to do so. HCFCs can still be used in equipment such as metered-dose inhalers despite a general ban on the gases agreed under the UN Montreal protocol on ozone layer protection. EU member states pledged in 1998 to devise a strategy for phasing out HCFCs in the medical sector, the german environment ministry noted. See press release.